


right place at the right time

by mytinylou



Category: One Direction (Band)
Genre: Alternate Reality, Doctor Liam, Father Louis, Harry sings, Kid Fic, Lonely Louis, M/M, Not Famous, Ordinary Harry, Ordinary Louis, dad louis, uni harry
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2016-01-18
Updated: 2018-03-08
Packaged: 2018-05-14 17:22:39
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 8
Words: 8,847
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/5751745
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/mytinylou/pseuds/mytinylou
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Louis has a 4 year old daughter. Harry is just a student at university. Both of them in the right place at the right time.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. One

“Belle we are going to be late if you don’t hurry up!”

Annabelle walked quickly into the living room with big blue watery eyes staring up at him. Her long straight, light blonde hair, that was slowly getting darker at the roots was hanging in her face. The hair was slightly covering her pout that was forming on her face. 

Sliding down onto the floor, right in front of Louis she kept the pout going. Squatting down Louis looked at her.

“Munchkin, what’s wrong?” Louis asks as he picks her up.

Annabelle didn’t answer for a few seconds, instead she just buried her head into Louis’ chest. 

“Don’t want to go” she mumbles so quietly that Louis could barely hear her.

A frown forms on Louis face, “I know you don’t, but the doctors aren’t so bad. They will even give you a lollipop if you be good for the doctor.” 

Belle looks up at Louis, her eyes still watery from being upset. 

“Promise?” Belle asks softly.

“Promise baby, We can even get a toy after the doctors if you are good.” Louis says while putting her back down onto the ground.

Helping Belle put on her shoes, Louis couldn’t stop checking the time; not wanting to be late for the appointment, 

The coldness of winter was just beginning. It wasn’t cold outside but the cool breeze was just enough to need a coat. Grabbing both their coats from the rack, Louis put Belle’s on and then his. 

The doctor wasn’t far away, but definitely not close enough to walk to either. Unfortunately Louis didn’t have a car. The best transportation that he had was the tube or an uber. Thankfully, there was no need for the tube today, just a short uber ride. Picking Belle up he, carried her outside and got into the uber car. 

~ ~ ~ ~ 

Getting to the doctor's office, took longer than Louis thought it would take. Still carrying Belle, he walked into the office and signed in. Belle’s head tucked into Louis shoulder still not wanting to be here.

Louis rubs her back gently, trying to reassure her that the doctor’s wasn’t going to be bad. A few minutes later the doctor called the two of them in.

Belle clung onto Louis, when he tried to put her down onto the exam bed. 

“Love, you have to sit up here. It will go by a lot quicker if you do.” Louis tells her.

“Noo” She whines still clinging onto him. 

Frowning softly Louis gave in to her and sat on top of the exam bed with her sitting in his lap. 

There was a soft knock and then the door opened. A young looking man walked in. He has short brown hair, that was in a quiff

“Hi, I am Dr. Payne, but you can just call me Liam if you would like.” He says while looking down at his notebook. “Now you must be Annabelle.” he continued saying while looking up to Annabelle. 

Annabelle didn’t look up, she clung tighter to Louis than before. 

Louis looked up to Liam, “Yeah this is Belle, sorry she’s a bit shy. To be truthful, she didn’t want to come here at all.” 

“No worries,” Liam said while moving closer to the exam bed. “Everything we are going to do today is simple. Definitely no shots today”

Belle looked up slowly, looking at Liam. “No shots?” she mumbles.

“No shots, promise” 

The checkup went by pretty quickly. Belle didn’t seem to mind it after she figured out that Liam was nice and funny. 

“Thank you for making it easy for Belle, hopefully she gets over the fear of doctors soon” Louis tells Liam. 

“No problem. If you ever have any questions, don’t forget to call” 

“Thank you again. Hope to see you around. Bye!” Louis said while standing up.

"Almost forgot your lollipop!" Liam said while handing it to Belle.

“Thank you!! Bye Dr. Liam” Belle said on her way out too.

~ ~ ~ ~

“That wasn’t too bad was it?” Louis asked her, while they were walking to the toy store like he had promised.

“Still don’t like doctors, only Dr. Liam” 

Louis chuckled and kept walking. The shops weren’t far from the doctors which made it nice, but it was still quite a long walk for a 4 year old.

Thankfully the walk went by quickly, with only a few complaints of how tired Belle was getting. Louis kept asking her if she just wanted to go home instead of heading to the toy store, but the answer kept being the same. She just had to get one new toy. 

Finally getting to the entrance of the store, Belle ran into the store, letting go of Louis’ hand.

“Belle! Come back here” 

Louis rushed inside and looked around. He couldn’t see her, there was so many people in the store that looking for Belle wouldn’t be easy.

Looking around the main part of the store, Belle was still not seen. The nervousness in Louis got larger and larger each aisle that she wasn’t in. The second to last aisle, was covered in pink. This must be the aisle she’s in Louis thought. Belle couldn’t get enough of Barbie, but especially of the Frozen dolls. 

Walking into the aisle quickly, he saw Belle standing next to a curly haired man. The curly haired man was squatting down, talking to Belle. 

Louis rushed over. “Belle!” He picked her up quickly and hugs her tightly. Putting her back down he squatted next to her. “You can’t just run away like that, I know that you were excited, but daddy was very very worried that something happened to you.”

“I’m sorry daddy, just wanted toys” 

Louis looked over to the curly haired man again. He had beautiful green eyes that were just looking at him, 

“She gave you quite a scare didn’t she” He chuckled,

“Oh god yes, one second we were just walking in and then the next she was running wild trying to find what she wanted” Louis told him.

“I can tell, hope you don’t mind that I was waiting with her. If no one showed up for her in the next few minutes I was going to take her up to the front” 

“Oh no, thank you for staying with her. This place is packed, wouldn’t want her to get lost and scared…”

Louis felt a tug on his shirt, “Daddy, can I get this one?” 

It was an Elsa doll that sung apparently. Picking up the doll Louis looked at it. It was a bit expensive for a doll. Louis couldn’t say no to her though.

“Only if you promise to never walk away without telling daddy where you are going, okay?” 

Belle nodded her head understanding, she took the doll and hugged it tightly smiling. 

Louis looked up at the man. His curls had fallen into his, he was looking down smiling at Belle with her new toy that she loved already.

“I’m Louis by the way” 

“Nice to meet ya, I’m Harry” He said with a warm smile.


	2. Two

Harry and Louis were looking at each other, neither could figure out what to say. Both wanted to say something to each other but didn’t want to embarrass themselves. Wanting to know whether or not Louis was single, Harry had to be subtle about it.

Harry looked down at Belle who was sitting playing with her doll and smiled, “You and her mum are extremely lucky, she’s adorable” 

“I’m extremely lucky, don’t know what I would do without her. Her mum actually isn’t around anymore.” 

“Oh shi-.. I’m sorry.” 

“It’s okay. We do just fine don’t we Belle?” Louis asked her while looking down.

Belle just nodded her head not wanting to look away from her doll. Louis could already think of all the problems that doll is going to be when she can’t play with it all day. 

Louis picked Belle up off the ground and held her, “We should probably get going, it was really great meeting you Harry.” 

Smiling Harry looked at the two of them. Belle resembled Louis so much. Especially the blue eyes. The eyes that so bright because of how happy she was with her doll. 

“If you don’t mind can I ask a question to Belle.” 

“Of course not, Belle pay attention for a second please.” 

“Now since you are an expert on toys, what toy should I get my niece?” Harry asked softly to her.

“hmmm. Elsa singing doll!” Belle shouted with excitement. 

The smile on Harry’s face grew and Louis just couldn’t stop staring. 

“That sounds like the perfect toy, thank you Belle” 

Picking up another Elsa doll, Harry couldn’t stop thinking about the possibilities. He wanted to know if they would ever see each other again or if it would be weird if he asked for Louis’ number. So many possibilities and so many things could go wrong. 

The two of them walked up to checkout together and waited for a few minutes in the long lines.   
Louis took a deep breath in debating what to do. He really wanted to see Harry again, but the likely chances of just running into each other was a slim chance. Looking up once more at Harry he decided what he was going to do. 

Right as he was about to ask Harry for his number, it was his turn to checkout. Belle’s grip on the toy tightened and Louis sighed and just looked at her for a second. Giving it up slowly, she gave the doll to him. 

As the lady at the register ran the price, Louis sighed. He knew it was a more pricey doll, but seeing the price again made him realize it even more. He didn’t have a lot of money to just spend, it was tight already. 

“Thank you have a nice day,” Louis said to the lady at checkout.

She smiled and nodded in response. Going over to the side waiting for Harry, he kept debating if he was going to ask for his number. He was going to, but now re thinking it made him not sure.

Harry came walking over to them with a smile on his face. His curls bouncing on his head every step he took. 

“I hope your niece likes the doll, I know Belle already does” Louis chuckled while looking down to Belle, moving her hair out of her face. 

“I hope she does too, never really sure what to buy her. She changes what she likes constantly.” Harry chuckled.

“We should probably be heading home, really nice meeting you Harry.” 

Not asking for his number was the right decision. He was younger than Louis and he couldn’t imagine him wanting to waste his young years raising a four year old. Even though Louis loves Belle so much, he does know not many would want to just give it up. 

“Yeah really nice meeting you too. Hope to see you around again. Bye Belle, have fun with your doll, ” 

“Bye Harry” Belle said loudly with a smile,

With a quick wave while walking out, Louis and Belle left. Harry was just standing their smiling. 

~ ~ ~ ~

Tossing his phone up and down on his couch, Harry couldn’t stop thinking about Louis. How his eyes lit up when he could see that Belle was loving the new doll she was getting. The amount of love that he had for her was adorable. 

Regret was consuming his mind too. Not asking for his number was a big mistake. They could be texting right now if he did. 

Harry’s thoughts got interrupted when he heard the door to the apartment open. 

“Are you still laying on the couch? I left this morning and you were there and now it’s 4 and you are still laying there.” 

Harry sat up and stared at his roommate. Giving him a slight glare in annoyance, he just mumbled under his breath. Not loud enough for his roommate to hear.

“What was that Harry?” 

“Nothing Liam. Maybe I have been laying here all day, but I didn’t have any classes today and already did all my work.” 

Liam was his roommate since he moved to London to go to Uni. Liam and him have been friends ever since they were younger. Their mums were extremely close which made the two of them always know each other. Liam was only a few years older than Harry. Harry was 22 and Liam was 26. Not much age difference.

Liam was sort of like the older brother that doesn’t stop annoying you, but in a good way. He already graduated and became a doctor so now he just wants to see Harry succeed too. 

“Alright, want to go out tonight? It is a Friday and you haven’t done anything all day”

“No, I’m good. I think I’m just going to stay in watch movies and eat Mac and Cheese.” Harry said in response

Liam just sighed and put walked to his room. Harry just didn’t want to have to go out and have fun when all he wanted to do was think about Louis. 

Laying back down Harry just stared up at the ceiling, there was nothing there. Just deep in thought.

He heard Liam’s footsteps coming from his room. Liam sat down on the chair across from the couch. Harry could feel the Liam staring at him. He didn’t look over to him, just kept laying there. 

“Harry what’s going on? The past few days you’ve been acting weird.” 

“Nothing Li, just been thinking about something” More like someone, but Harry wasn’t ready to tell Liam about Louis since nothing was going to happen.

“I know you're thinking, but what about. Haven’t seen you like this in a while.”

Harry really didn’t want to tell Liam, but he knew if he didn’t Liam would just keep asking.

“Someone I met a few days ago at the store, never going to see him again.”

“Aw mate, I’m sorry.”

“It's alright. He was so cute though and his daughter was adorable. They both had the brightest blue eyes” 

Harry couldn’t stop smiling just thinking about Louis. He has never felt like this about someone he just met and had a short conversation with. 

“Maybe you will run into them at the shops again, you never know.” 

Harry just nodded, knowing that he probably wouldn’t run into him again. 

“You actually have to leave the apartment to maybe run into him again, you know. That’s why we should go out tonight. It will be fun please Harry.” 

“Fine, what time are we leaving then?”

“Maybe around 7 would be good.” Liam told him.

Harry nodded. He still didn’t want to go out, but Liam did have a point. No way of being able to see Louis again if he doesn’t leave his apartment.


	3. Three

A full day of work and getting woken up at midnight by Belle needing something to drink, Louis was exhausted. He couldn’t even fall back to sleep after getting woken up, he just laid there thinking for hours until his alarm clock went off at six. Now having to prepare dinner for the two of them after the long day, he was not wanting to be creative with the meal.

“I’m hungry” Belle said while sitting on the ground playing.

“What would you like to eat love?” 

“Pizza!” Belle replied.

“No pizza tonight, something that I can make.” 

Normally Louis would be all for pizza, but money has been tight lately. Pizza wasn’t expensive, but a box of pasta was much cheaper.

“Grilled cheese, please?”

“Of course,” Louis said while getting off the couch and going to the kitchen.

Louis could barely cook much, he had a few things that he could make but other than that he was one of the worst cooks ever. He learned how to master grilled cheese, pancakes, eggs and pasta. Just enough foods to make it work.

While cooking the grilled cheese, Louis kept a close eye on Belle making sure that she wasn’t getting into anything.

Belle being in four years old, she’s learning a lot more things. She especially is getting into everything. Not being bad or anything just being bored enough to wonder what things are. 

“Belle what would you like to drink?” Louis asked just loud enough so she could hear him.

“Umm, apple juice please” 

Louis nodded to himself and poured a glass of apple juice while the grilled cheese were still cooking. Just finishing up the grilled cheese he put it onto a plate and smiled. He was proud that he was able to make it. Even though he has made it hundreds of times now, it's still an accomplishment.

He put the plate and glass of apple juice onto the table. 

“Belle come sit down please” 

Belle came running over and climbed up onto her chair. 

“Be careful love, it's probably still a bit hot” 

Belle nodded in response. She carefully picked it up and took a small bite, testing to see if it was to hot for her. Realizing that it was just the right temperature, she took a big bite. 

Leaning his elbow down on the table, Louis ate some of his. He wasn’t a fan of grilled cheese to be truthful, but it was better than having a piece of plain bread for dinner.

Munching down on hers, Belle finished quite quickly. She looked up to Louis and smiled. Louis knew that smile, it was the sneaky smile. He could tell Belle just wanted to get up and go play while Louis finished eating. Some nights he lets her go play, but she also needs to learn that she can’t just get up and play.

“Please can I go play? I’m all done eating.” Belle asks, while picking up her plate showing Louis.

“You can go play while I finish cleaning up, but once I finish cleaning, its bathtime and then bed. Does that sound alright?” 

Belle nodded quickly and got up from the table. She walked around to wear Louis was sitting and gave him a hug the best should could since he was sitting on a tall chair and she was still very tiny. Before Louis could even give a hug back, she was off running to wear her toys were.

Washing the dishes, Louis couldn’t help but let his mind wonder. Ever since he met Harry at the toy shop, he couldn’t stop thinking about him. He was so close to asking for his number, but then wimped out. Sighing, Louis finished washing the dishes and putting them away.

Being as quiet as he could, he tiptoed over to where Belle was playing. He quickly picked her up and spun her around. Belle went into a fit of giggles as she tried to grip onto Louis tighter. Spinning her faster and faster the louder her giggles got. Smiling wide, Louis stopped spinning. 

“Time for bath time! What toy do you want today?” Louis asked while carrying her to the bathroom. 

Belle absolutely hated baths. She didn’t like playing in the tub or even splashing Louis he was sitting in his clothes. All of it she hated. Louis tried to make bath time more fun for her each time, but nothing ever worked.

“I don’t want a bath.” Belle remarks. She quickly crossed her arms and pouted, hoping that it would stop her from having a bath.

“You need a bath love. Don’t want to be smelly, do you?” 

Louis put her down in the bathroom and turned the water on. The tub was quite small, so it only took a few minutes to fill up. Belle still refused to take a bath. 

“Annabelle, you really need to get into the tub. It will go much quicker if you aren’t mad at me” 

For a four year old, Belle knew what she wanted and didn’t want and this was one of those things. After 12 minutes of trying to get her into the bath, the actual bathing only took a few minutes. She was still very upset with Louis that she had to take a bath. Louis doesn’t take it personally, he knows that every time he mentions bath, this happens.

After getting all clean and dried off, Belle ran to her room. Grabbing her princess nightgown she put it on without Louis help. Following after her Louis got to her room. 

“What story would you like tonight?”

Belle climbed up into her bed and thought. Looking around she made her decision. 

“Cinderella!!” Belle said happily.

Louis nodded. He sat down at the bottom of the bed and started to tell the story. She shortly fell asleep after only a few minutes of it. Pulling the covers over her gently, Louis walked out of her room. 

Usually Louis stays up later than Belle, but he was exhausted. Going to his room he decided he was going to go to sleep early. He got ready for bed quickly and laid down.

He tried to fall asleep he really did, but he just couldn’t. His mind kept wandering all over the place. All the possibilities that could have happened if he asked for Harry’s number. How much Belle had already warmed up to him after only a few minutes of talking to. A few hour of thought later, Louis finally was able to fall asleep.

~ ~ ~ ~ 

Harry on the other hand was not anywhere close to being ready for bed. It was just near seven o’clock and that’s when Liam and him were going out.

Being on the couch all day, he really needed to shower before going out. Getting up off the couch, he went to the bathroom and showered quickly as possible. Being all clean, he headed back to his room and looked in his closet.

He wanted to look nice tonight, but not like he was trying to hard. Wanted his outfit too be impressive, just incase he ran into Louis. It was a slight chance that he was going to run into him tonight, but weirder things could happen. Staring into his closet, he decided on black skinnies and a light blue sweater.

“Harry we have to go! We are going to be late.” Liam shouted from outside his room. 

Liam never wanted to be late for anything, even if it was just meeting up with a few friends for drinks, being late was not acceptable. 

“I’ll be right out! I just need to do my hair and put my shoes on!”

Liam sighed. He knew that doing his hair could take 2 minutes or 15 minutes. There was never any in between for Harry’s hair. Harry quickly put his black boots on and did his hair. He decided to just let it mostly air dry for tonight. 

He opened his door and walked out to where Liam was standing

“You ready?” Liam asked Harry looking around the apartment making sure he didn’t forget anything.

“Yeah, where are we even going?” 

“I don’t know really, Niall texted me the address.” Liam told Harry while opening the door and walking outside.

Harry just nodded and also walked outside.

Who knows what was going to happen tonight, Harry just hoped that he would see Louis.


	4. Four

Harry really didn’t want to go out tonight with Liam, but he knew it was maybe the only way to see Louis again. He doubted that he would, but he also wanted to be a good friend and go out.

When the two of them finally got to the bar, Harry looked around. It was extremely crowded inside. Following Liam, he met up with Niall. 

“Aye mate, how’s it goin?” Niall asked while taking a sip of his beer.

“It could be better” Harry said while looking around.

“Ignore him, he’s just moping around. He fancies someone who he might never see again” Liam said while putting his arm around Niall. 

Harry just sighed to what Liam had said. Grabbing his beer off the counter, Harry took a sip of it. 

“Is anyone else meeting us here?” Harry asked both Liam and Niall. 

“Some more people are supposed to come, but they weren’t positive. Maybe a few more people, but probably not that many more.” Niall told Harry.

Taking a sip of his beer, Harry looked around. Going out with Niall and Liam could be fun, but tonight he honestly just wanted to be home. The two of them were being all coupley and dancing together and Harry was just alone. There were other people there that he knew, but he wasn’t close to any of them and didn’t want to put on a happy and excited act to be here. 

He sat down on the bar stool and looked down. Harry was done with his beer, he couldn’t decide if he was just going to leave or stay for a bit and hope to meet someone who could cheer him up. 

“Need another one?” 

Harry looked up to the bartender and then back down to his empty bottle of beer. Another beer or home?

“Um, yeah another one would be great.” Harry said with a small smile.

The bartender grabbed Harry’s empty beer and turned around. Grabbing another one from behind the counter, he turned back around and put it down. 

“Thanks”

“No problem. Rough night?” He asked.

“I guess you could say that” Harry said.

~ ~ ~ ~ 

A few beers later and a rare decision of doing a “few” shots, you could say Harry was doing okay.

“You know I just don’t get it. Why didn’t he ask for my number? He could have asked for my number, I shouldn’t had to” Harry said slurring his words.

“I don’t know, maybe he was nervous too” the bartender Zayn said. 

Harry got to know Zayn a bit after sitting at the bar for the entire time he was there. He seemed nice. Harry especially liked his tattoos that he had, so unique and original.

Harry always wanted to be one to not care about what he tattooed on his body, but he wasn’t quite there yet. He just had a few tiny ones that were easy to cover up. 

Standing up slowly, Harry wobbled. “I’m gonna head home”

“Do you have anyone to go home with? Don’t think it’s a good idea to let you go by yourself.”

Harry nodded and pointed over to where Liam and Niall were. “I’ll talk next” He said

Zayn wasn’t quite sure what that meant exactly, but just nodded and waved Harry goodbye.

Harry stumbled out of the bar with Niall and Liam. 

“Wow mate, didn’t think you were going to get drunk tonight” Liam said, while helping Harry walk back to the apartment. Harry just laughed in response.

20 minutes of helping Harry walk and Niall laughing at every stupid thing Harry says, they finally made it back to the apartment building. The three of them headed up to their apartment. 

Harry was the first to make it to their actual apartment. Taking his keys out of his pocket, he tried to open the door. 3 times of dropping them, he gave up and sat down in front of the door.

Liam and Niall were only a few steps behind him and couldn’t help but to laugh. Laughing so hard at Harry, they helped him up and unlocked the door.

“Good night tonight” Harry said, as he stumbled over to the couch. 

Niall’s face had confusion written all over it. 

“Is he going to sleep or saying it was a good night?” Niall asked quietly to Liam.

Liam shrugged his shoulders in response. “Who knows with him right now. Are you staying over tonight or going back to yours?” 

“Going to head back to mine, got an early morning tomorrow. Hopefully get a few hours of sleep before having to wake up.” 

Standing at the door of the apartment, Liam kissed Niall. 

“Goodnight love, see you tomorrow sometime yeah?” Niall said.

Liam nodded in response, “Night babe”

Niall didn’t say goodnight to Harry, he couldn’t quite see if Harry was asleep or just in deep thought. After Niall left, Liam sighed and walked over to where Harry was lying on the couch. Grabbing a blanket from Harry’s room, he covered him over.

“Night mate, hope your night wasn’t terrible” 

Harry just opened his eyes slightly and smiled a little at Liam. He just smiled in response and walked to his room. 

For Liam his night was amazing. He got to hang out with his wonderful boyfriend Niall and hang out with some of his closest friends. He was just worried about Harry. Usually Harry is the one to never drink and if he does it’s a max of two beers. 

Changing into his pajamas, Liam got into bed. Covering himself over with all of his blankets, he slowly fell asleep.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> sorry for not writing for a while, been extremely busy with school. Hope you like it !


	5. Five

Having a long day yesterday and not being able to fall asleep because of thinking about Harry, Louis was ready to sleep for a week. Staying wrapped in one of his blankets, he got out of bed. Going ever so slowly to the kitchen, he started to get breakfast ready for Belle. Louis has never been a morning person, even if he got plenty of sleep. A sleepy Louis is also a grouchy Louis. 

Looking at the time on the microwave, he realized that he woke up late. Not wanting to be late again for work this week, he grabbed a to go mug and poured cheerios into it for Belle. He went into his room and got changed into his work clothes. Working as a waiter does have its perks, he didn’t have to wear a business suit at least. 

Finishing getting ready he ran into Belle’s room. 

“Belle, it’s time to wake up love.” Louis said while turning the light on. 

Belle at least didn’t hate mornings as much as Louis did. Waking her up wasn’t as much of hassle as it is to wake up Louis.

“Noo daddy, it’s too early”

“I know it is Belle, but you gotta get up. You need to go to nursery school while daddy goes to work.” 

Belle slowly got herself out of bed. Her hair was in her face as she walked to her drawer. She opened it and pulled out a dress that has Elsa and Anna on it from Frozen. Frozen was her favourite movie of all time. 

“Can I wear this today?”

“Yeah sure” Louis got out her sneakers to match it and her cardigan to go over it. It was a little too chilly for her to just wear her dress. 

After Louis had gotten Belle ready, he was finally ready to get going. He grabbed his bag and the coffee mug full of cheerios for Belle on the way to school. Both of them walked out to the car. Putting his bag into the car, he then picked Belle up and put her into the car seat. 

“Here have some cheerios on the way there, okay?”

Belle just nodded and started eating. She was still very sleepy and didn’t really want to have to leave the house. 

Louis dropped Belle off at nursery school and finally made it to work. Today he was only a few minutes late. Work today was going to be extremely long. He kept hoping that he would see Harry walk in and be able to see him again. 

“Wow Lou, I’m surprised that you are actually here almost on time today” His friend Matt said. 

“Wow funny one Matt. I overslept today. I couldn’t fall asleep last night and then this morning just came around way too fast.”

Matt just chuckled and went back to checking what tables were available. The diner that Louis worked at was especially busy in the morning, which sucked for him. He would rather take the night shift than the morning one. 

As more and more people kept coming in, Louis kept going around making sure everyone had enough coffee and cleaning off tables. He didn’t mind doing this, but he would much rather be doing something else. 

Every time someone would walk into the door and the door would ding because of the bells, Louis’ head would look up. He kept hoping that Harry would walk into the diner. 

“What’s going on today Lou, you seem so distracted” Matt asked, while they both were getting plates from the counter.

“It’s nothing. I just met someone and can’t stop thinking about them” 

Matt just nodded in response, knowing that there was nothing he could do to help. As the day went on, Louis realized that Harry wouldn’t come into the diner and he was just wasting his time looking at the door when someone new walked in.

\-- --

After hours of working, Louis’ shift was finally done. He was never so happy to be able to go home. He was exhausted, hungry and wanted to just pick Belle up and watch movies all night.

Louis drove to the nursery school where Belle was. Going into the school, he was hoping that Belle was in a good mood. 

“Hey Louis, Belle is just finishing up her snack if you don’t mind waiting a few minutes” 

“Hey Zoe, no problem. Don’t mind waiting a few minutes for her to finish up” 

A few minutes went by and Belle turned around and saw Louis.

“Daddy! Look what I drew today!!” Belle said while running over to him.

He bent down next to her and looked at her drawing.

“Wow Belle, this is amazing. I love it. You drew us and grandma.” 

Belle couldn’t stop smiling when she heard how much Louis loved it. Holding onto his hand, they both walked out while saying bye to Zoe. 

“I think this artwork deserves to go on the fridge, don’t you?”

Belle just nodded in response, tired from her day.

~ ~ ~ ~ 

Harry woke up to a pounding headache the next morning. He really shouldn’t have drank that much the night before. He slowly got up out of bed, trying to ignore the pounding pain in his head. Grabbing Tylenol from the cupboard he took some. As he looked into the mirror he realized he looked like crap. The night before really messed him up. 

He walked out to the kitchen to see Liam sitting there drinking some coffee while on his phone.

“How are you today? Do you need some coffee?” 

“Would love some coffee, can’t believe I drank that much last night.” Harry said while sitting down onto one of the bar stools. 

“I was very surprised myself, you usually never get drunk.” 

“I guess I just got caught up and didn’t keep track of how much I drank.”

Liam nodded and poured a cup of coffee for Harry. “It’s a good thing that you didn’t have classes today. Don’t think you would have made your 9 A.M.” 

“Definitely don’t think I would make them. Next time we go out make sure I don’t drink that much please.”

“Of course, so what are you doing today?”

“I think I may just watch some youtube videos and maybe start to research an essay that’s due next week. What about you?” Harry said while drinking his coffee.

“Sounds like a pretty exciting day. I’m going to go over to Niall’s place later tonight and hang out with him.” 

Harry put his mug into the sink and started walking to the bathroom, “I’m gonna shower, hopefully it will make me feel better.” 

Liam just nodded and went back to using his phone.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry it has been so long without updating! It's been quite a busy few months. Hope you like it!


	6. Six

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> How can it be a holiday season without shopping and baking cookies

A few weeks have gone by and it’s now almost Christmas. Christmas for Louis has always been such an amazing time. All of his family at his mum's house on Christmas Eve celebrating his birthday and then waking up by his sisters extra early to open presents. Now with Belle, it’s even more of an amazing time. Belle just lights up at Christmas time, with the possibility of snow falling and being able to meet Santa.

Holiday season at the diner though seems to always be a thousand times busier than other times of the year. Today Louis called in “sick,” he needed this time to be able to get everything he’s been procrastinating on doing done. 

His list of things to do is extremely long, making him wonder how he’s going to get everything done. With Christmas being so near, his most important thing to do is go shopping for presents. With Belle at nursery school, it makes it much easier to go shopping. 

Wrapping his scarf around his neck, he headed out to the shops. The first place he decided to go was the jewelry shop. He has been saving up enough money to get his mom an actual present this year. For the past few years he hasn’t been able to afford one, but this year he has a special bracelet with all of his and his sibling's gemstones. 

With the last few weeks being so busy, Louis has not even had time to think about Harry, until today. All the thoughts start to come back to him, maybe it is being in a toy store again that reminds him of Harry, but all he knows is that he just wants to see him at least one more time and soon. 

Just as he was about to turn the corner, Louis collided with someone. Tea was everywhere and Louis stumbled a bit. Grabbing his bag that he dropped on the ground, he looked up and saw someone very familiar. It was Belle’s doctor, Liam. 

“Hey Louis, right?” Liam asked while looking him up and down, trying to make sure that he had the correct person.

Louis chuckled, “Yeah, that would be me.”

“So sorry about that mate, I really have to watch where I am going, usually I am not this clumsy.” He looked at Louis again, not really knowing what to say in a situation like this, “Lots of Christmas shopping to do today for both of us I guess.”

 

Agreeing Louis nodded, “Yeah, I’m actually almost done thankfully, been out and about since this morning. I can’t wait to be able to chill for a few minutes before picking Belle up.” 

“Totally understandable, well I’ll let you get going so you can have those few minutes of peace,” Liam said while laughing.  
“Thanks, mate, have a good holiday,” Louis said while he started to walk again.Not even making it a few steps, he heard his name being called, by what sounded to be Liam. Turning around he saw that it was Liam, what could Liam need?

“Hey sorry! I know this is completely random, but some friends and I are having a holiday party this Friday and I was wondering if you would like to come, the more the merrier right?” Liam said, being extremely kind.

“That sounds like a lot of fun, I’m just not sure if I’ll be able to come…”

“Totally understandable, very last minute,” Liam chuckled, “but I can text you all the information if you want and you can decide later.” he suggested.

Louis nodded in agreeance, “Sounds great, I can give you my number.” The two of them exchanged numbers and went their own ways until possibly Friday. It’s so last minute, Louis’ thoughts were now taken over about trying to find a babysitter for Belle. He wants to go and actually socialize with people, but spending time with Belle is so important and it’s not like he has spare cash around to pay for someone to watch her all night. Maybe all of these factors are a sign that he just shouldn’t go to Liam’s holiday party.

~ ~ ~ ~

“Harry, I’m back from the shops,” Liam shouted, trying to make sure that Harry would actually hear what he was saying. Not getting any response from him, Liam figured Harry was asleep or watching Netflix or something. Unpacking the groceries, he started to try and figure out what he wanted to eat for dinner. There was nothing that was really calling to him tonight. While staring in the fridge, he felt a tap on his shoulder. Turning around he saw Harry who he had assumed didn’t even hear that he had gotten home.

“Hey, I was thinking, we should bake some cookies so that we have more festive stuff for the party on Friday,” Harry said while starting to grab all of the ingredients.

“I mean yeah, sounds great, but you know I am not that great at baking or cooking anything…” 

“I know, but I can do most of the work and you can just help if you want,” Harry suggested.

As the two of them made the batter they listened to Christmas music the whole time. “I just wanted to let you know, today I ran into a dad of one of my patients, he’s really nice and I invited him to come to the party. Hope you don’t mind” Liam said while rolling out the dough for gingerbread men.

“Of course not! The more people will make this party even better. That’s, even more of a reason that we have to make these delicious cookies, so we can impress whoever this mystery man is!” 

Laughing in response, the two of them continued to make their cookies. Even though the Christmas music was on and very loud, Harry’s thoughts were still louder than it. He hasn’t been thinking about Louis as much lately. He’s been trying to push him aside, but it hasn’t been working very well. Especially with Liam bringing up a mystery man, all Harry can think about is how Louis is basically a mystery to him, yet he feels so connected to him, but someone not at all. 

Harry can’t help but wonder if he will ever see Louis again, maybe it was just an accident that the two of them met and that fate doesn’t want them together. Who knows…

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hii so sorry for not updating in over a year, I didn't even realize that it has been that long. Hopefully, I can update more frequent now, have a happy holiday!


	7. Seven

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The hours before the party that may just change everything for both Harry and Louis.

“Thank you so so so much! I thought I should start getting back out there and the party starts at 7.”

“Okay cool, I can come over around 6 and help make sure you wear something stylish and get Belle all set up. “

Louis smiled to himself, it really is the first time he has gone out without Belle in ages, “Thank you again so much Z, I’ll see you later tonight.”Friday has come very quickly and Louis was nowhere close to being ready to go to the party tonight. He still hasn’t even found a babysitter for Belle. Maybe Zayn isn’t working tonight and he could watch Belle, but that is a very unlikely chance.

Picking up his phone Louis called Zayn, “Hey mate, I was wondering what you were doing tonight.” 

“I don’t think much, we can hang out if you want.” 

“Actually, there is this holiday party I got invited to and I was wondering if you could do me a huge favor and watch Belle tonight.”

“Ooo a party, can’t believe you are actually going. Seems like you haven’t been to one in ages. Of course I can watch Belle, I miss her lots. What time is the party at?” Zayn asked.

Hanging up the phone he went back to the living room, where Belle was munching on some grapes while watching Monsters Inc. Sitting down next to her, Louis just stared at her for a second. How could he have gotten so lucky to have such a wonderful daughter like her. He was starting to rethink his plan of going to the party, maybe he should stay home with Belle and make it a movie night with her. They haven't had one of those in a while, with popcorn and all of their favorite movies.

Trying to brush these thoughts out of his head, he quickly turned his attention to the movie. There was no reason he couldn’t have one night to himself. It will be a fun time. I mean he will be spending extra time with Belle over the holidays anyway. Convincing himself that going to the party was the right thing, he looked back to Belle.

“Belle, tonight Uncle Zayn is going to come over and watch you while I go to a holiday party. You two will have lots of fun.” 

Belle seemed to barely even hear what Louis was saying. She just nodded slowly in response to all of her attention focused on the movie. Sighing in response to Belle not paying attention, Louis just shifted his attention back to the movie.

~ ~ ~ ~

Harry was stressing out, the apartment wasn’t even close to being ready to have people over. There was still a mess in the kitchen from decorating cookies and the tree still needed to have ornaments put on it. There are only 3 hours until the party and that is not nearly enough time to get everything ready. 

Liam, on the other hand, was not stressed at all. Not having all the ornaments on the tree didn’t even seem to bother him. The only he seemed to care about was to make sure that there were some good music and snacks for everyone. 

“Li can you please help me clean the kitchen and then put ornaments on? I know you just got home, but we still have so much to do.” Harry begged.

“Why don’t I clean up the living room while you do the kitchen so it gets done quicker.” He suggested. 

“Great. Sounds like a plan.” Harry said while going toward the kitchen. Washing all of the dishes, Harry moved on to cleaning the counters and putting things away. Thankfully Harry was a quick cleaner and he was able to get it done in only 30 minutes. 

Between the two of them, the cleaning was going by quickly. As everything was getting closer to being ready for the night, Harry could feel his excitement creep up. He just loves spending time with all of his friends and having lots of fun with them, but this year it seems different for some reason. Maybe because he is having a party at his place and not going to someone else’s, who knows.

“Okay Liam, I think we have everything done for the night. We have about an hour till everyone gets here so I am going to go shower and get ready.” Harry said while walking toward the bathroom. Liam just nodded in response and continued to play on his phone.

The night was going to be amazing, Harry could just tell. The warmth and happiness of the season filled the air.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Wow!! I can't believe this is my second update in 2 days, hope you guys enjoy it!


	8. Eight

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The long wait for Harry and Louis to finally see each other again is over. Their worlds have finally collided.

Staring at his closet, Louis could not decide what to wear to the holiday party tonight. He wanted to make a good impression but didn’t want to be overdressed. There were just way too many possibilities of what to wear. As his thoughts on what to wear were circling around in his head, he heard the doorbell ring.

“Daddy, someone’s at the door!” Belle shouted from the living room where she was playing with her toys. 

“Thank you, Belle, for letting me know,” Louis said while heading to open the door, knowing that it was Zayn.

Opening the door Louis smiled, “Hey mate, thank you again so much for watching Belle for me. I really owe you.”

“Not at all, you know I love spending time with her,” Zayn said while Belle came running over and gave him a huge hug, “Hi sweetheart, you ready to have a fun night without your dad?” 

Belle just nodded her head in response,

“You got her at the perfect time actually, I was just trying to figure out what to wear to the party and it is not going well”

~ ~ ~

“Alright, let’s go see what we can make due within your closet,” Zayn said while they walked to Louis’ room.

Looking in the closet, Zayn sighed. He stared inside it for a few minutes and then pulled out a knit sweater that was green and red. Holding it up to see if it would look good on Louis, he smiled and then grabbed a pair of black skinny jeans.

“This outfit will be perfect for the night. It’s festive, but not too festive and the black skinny jeans will help it look even nicer.” Zayn said while handing it over to Louis.

“I do not know what I would do without my own personal stylist,” Louis said while laughing. 

“Alright, Belle lets go find something to eat while your dad gets ready for his fun night out.” Right, when Belle heard that she ran out to the kitchen, waiting for Zayn to follow her.

“Can we have pizza tonight? We haven’t had it in foreveerr” 

Zayn laughed and looked at Belle. She was doing the cutest puppy dog face ever and Zayn could just not say no to her. “Alright, I guess tonight we will be eating pizza!”  
Right after Zayn got off the phone ordering the pizza for the two of them, Louis walked out of his room and into the kitchen.

“So what do you think? Are the shoes alright with it? It’s what I usually wear with skinnies, but I don’t know if they are alright for a party,” Louis said. Zayn could tell that his thoughts were spinning and he knew that he wanted to make a good impression tonight.

“You look great, now go have a good time at the party. This is the first time I’ve seen you be social for months, enjoy it!” Zayn said while smiling and doing hand motions of shooing him out the door.

Laughing, Louis went over to Belle and gave her a kiss on the top of her head and said goodbye. Walking toward the door, he shouted another thank you to Zayn for watching Belle. 

Let the night begin. 

~ ~ ~

Taking a deep breath, Louis knocked on the door to the apartment. What was he getting himself into? He only knows one person at this party and that one person he barely knows. It wouldn’t be too late to turn around and go home. He could have a nice quiet night with Zayn and Belle. All of his thoughts became interrupted as Liam opened the door.

“Hey, Louis! Welcome! Come on inside and make yourself at home, we have some drinks and homemade cookies over there and then appetizer food over on the kitchen table,” Liam said while pointing in different directions, “I’m so glad you were able to find a babysitter for Belle and come tonight!”

“I am too! I think my friend was more than happy to babysit, he was practically pushing me out of the house, trying to get me to be more social.” Louis said while laughing softly.

Liam just smiled in response and walked with Louis to the living room area of the apartment where some of the other guests were.

“Everyone, this is Louis. Louis, this is everyone!” 

Louis smiled at everyone and did a small wave to them. Scanning the people in the room, to see if he recognized anyone, he was out of luck. The only person he knew was Liam. He sat down next to a blonde guy who was laughing at something that did not seem that funny and to a girl who had red hair.

He joined in on the conversation that they were having about one of the new movies that got released. They seemed like nice people, but it was still awkward to be the only person who was not close to anyone there.

Just as Louis thought he was out of luck of knowing someone there, he saw a tall man walk out from where the hallway with the bathrooms and bedrooms were. He had curly hair that was styled perfectly and he had a walk that made him look so confident.

It was the man who he had met at the toy store. The person who he was not able to get out of his mind for weeks and thought that he would never see again, but yet, there he was. Louis excused himself from the conversation and stood up quickly. Walking over to where Harry was, Louis was determined to talk to him again, even if it meant interrupting a conversation or two.

Joining the circle of people that Harry was with, Louis smiled. This was the moment. 

“Ah, Louis! I want to introduce you to my one of my best friends and my roommate Harry,” Liam said while smiling.

“It’s so nice to see you again Harry,” Louis said. He knew he should have said something else, but his mind was covered in fog.

Harry turned his head to look at Louis. His eyes opened wide in shock. He could not figure out how this could be. He thought he would never see Louis again. Without even taking a second thought, Harry’s arms went up and gave Louis a big hug, something that Louis was not expecting.

“So I guess you two already know each other!"

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So sorry for how long this chapter took to write, but I am so excited that I finally wrote it and I will be writing more! I hope you guys like this chapter and if you do please leave a kudos as it means a lot and yeah thank you for reading!


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